The Open Circle

Our story

We've sat in every seat at the table.

Vidya started at a lab bench, studying new ways to fight drug-resistant bacteria. Priya started in a pediatric therapy room, working with children and their families. Over the next two decades, Vidya moved into pharma program and regulatory leadership, and Priya into medical device regulatory affairs.

We have each been the individual contributor, the manager and the leader. In both industries we kept seeing the same thing: the most useful conversations about regulation, clinical trials and how work really gets done rarely include every level at once.

The Open Circle pulls up those chairs. On YouTube, we sit down with executives, managers and early- to mid-career professionals in MedTech and Pharma to talk about what is happening in the field, and how it looks from each seat.

The Open Circle

Where experience, ambition, and insight meet

How a season works

Three conversations, then one circle.

Each quarter is a season of four episodes on one theme. We hear it from the top, the middle and the front line, then bring all three guests together to compare notes.

Episode 1

The executive view

One-on-one with a C-level leader on strategy, risk and where the industry is heading.

Episode 2

The manager view

A people manager or function lead on turning direction into plans, and teams into results.

Episode 3

The team view

An early- to mid-career professional on the day-to-day work and what reaches them.

Episode 4

The Open Circle

All three guests with Vidya and Priya: where the views line up, where they don't, and what to do about it.

Seasons alternate between MedTech and Pharma each quarter.

What we talk about

The conversations happening in the industry now.

Every episode covers a live topic in the field and asks how it is decided, communicated and carried out at each level.

RI

Regulatory intelligence

Spotting shifts in guidance and policy early, and getting that signal to the people who need it.

RA

Regulatory affairs

Submissions, agency interactions and the handoffs that make or break a filing.

CT

Clinical trials

Design, operations and site partnerships, and keeping patients at the center of the timeline.

MD

Medical devices

Design controls, quality systems and bringing devices from concept to market.

Rx

Pharma

Pipelines, development decisions and how strategy reaches the teams that deliver it.

LG

The leadership gap

Where expectations and information get lost between levels, and how teams close the gap.

Your hosts

Two careers. Two industries. One circle.

One started at a lab bench, the other in a pediatric therapy room. Today they bring more than three decades of combined experience across pharma and medical devices to every conversation.

Vidya Narayanaswamy
Pharma & biotech

Vidya Narayanaswamy

MS, MBA, PMP

Lab benchAI drug discovery & regulatory leadership

  • AI-enabled drug discovery
  • IND / NDA / BLA / MAA strategy
  • Clinical trial lifecycle
  • Portfolio governance
  • CMC & regulatory integration

Life sciences portfolio, program, and regulatory leader with more than 18 years of experience spanning AI-enabled drug discovery, preclinical and clinical development, global regulatory submissions, and cross-functional R&D execution. Brings an uncommon combination of bench science, biomarker and bioanalytical operations, clinical program management, regulatory strategy, and PMO design to the question of how complex programs move from hypothesis to approval. Experienced in translating science and regulatory strategy into integrated portfolio plans, stage-gate decisions, governance dashboards, risk frameworks, and executive-ready communications.

She currently serves as Senior Consultant at IPM Integrated Project Management Company, where she led the Product Development Lifecycle Management (PDLM) Center of Excellence, a practice of 7 workstreams. She also heads the AI-Enabled Drug Discovery (AIDD) workstream, where she and her team shaped how AI is applied across the development lifecycle, from tools that accelerate clinical trials and regulatory submissions to the policies that govern their responsible use. She also advises sponsors on regulatory strategy and submissions. Her work helps pharma and biotech sponsors align Research, Clinical, Regulatory, CMC, Safety, Legal, Quality, and external partners around a single, decision-ready plan. Her prior experience spans early discovery through IND-enabling readiness, Phase 3 and pediatric planning, NDA/BLA and MAA strategy, post-approval commitments, global CMC variations, companion and complementary diagnostic strategy, and CRO and vendor governance.

She is also a peer-reviewed author and invited speaker on leadership skills, leading teams through organizational change, clinical trials, concurrent global regulatory submissions, AI-enabled drug discovery, project leadership across the R&D lifecycle, AI and the future of regulatory affairs, career growth for early- to mid-career professionals, and novel antimicrobials against drug-resistant pathogens.

Geethapriya (Priya) Setty
Medical devices

Geethapriya (Priya) Setty

MBA, RAC-Devices, PMP

Therapy roomGlobal device regulation & AI governance

  • Regulatory intelligence
  • EU AI Act & EU MDR
  • AI governance
  • SaMD & AI-enabled devices
  • Class II & III devices

Regulatory affairs, policy, and digital transformation leader with nearly two decades of healthcare experience, including nine years of focused medical device regulatory practice. Brings an uncommon combination of clinical practice, hospital quality leadership, global device regulation, enterprise information governance, and applied AI expertise to address challenges related to accountability, transparency, and human oversight in adaptive AI systems. Experienced in translating emerging regulatory and ethical requirements into practical governance strategies for product development, quality systems, global market access, and responsible AI oversight.

She currently serves as Manager, Global Regulatory Affairs at Hologic, supporting regulatory intelligence, policy, strategy, and digital transformation initiatives. Her work focuses on helping organizations understand and respond to an increasingly complex regulatory landscape, including the impact of emerging technologies, evolving global requirements, regulatory information management modernization, and the growing role of artificial intelligence in healthcare and medical technology. Her prior experience spans regulatory intelligence and policy, product stewardship, class III structural heart devices, software as a medical device, international submissions, field corrective actions, medical device reporting, regulatory operations, and advertising and promotional review.

She is also a peer-reviewed author and invited speaker on the EU AI Act, EU MDR, ISO/IEC 42001, AI-enabled medical applications, lifecycle governance, AI literacy and the evolving capabilities required of regulatory professionals.

Watch

First episodes coming soon.

Subscribe on YouTube to catch every conversation as it airs.

Subscribe on YouTube

Be a guest

Know someone with a story from their seat?

We're looking for executives, managers and early- to mid-career professionals in MedTech and Pharma. You can nominate yourself or a colleague.

  • A 20-minute prep call to agree themes and anything off limits.
  • A 30 to 45 minute recorded conversation, remote or in studio.
  • Five business days to review your episode before it airs.
  • A participant release to sign. You speak for yourself, not your employer, and nothing confidential goes on air.

Send us a nomination

Email the name, role, organization and the topic you'd like to hear them on.

theopencirclepodcastbyvp@gmail.com